


Delicate Questions and Cotton Sheets

by thegrumblingirl



Series: Exploration Date: 2048 [1]
Category: Almost Human
Genre: Dorian's never slept in a proper bed, John isn't having that, M/M, coda to S01E02 'Skin', someone knock me out please
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2013-11-23
Packaged: 2018-01-02 10:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegrumblingirl/pseuds/thegrumblingirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dorian exited the MX facility one block away from the station, Kennex was waiting outside, leaning against the side of his car. The angles of his face looked even harsher in the light of the streetlamps, but Dorian could tell from a quick scan of his heart rate and serotonin levels that he was actually more relaxed than he’d seen him so far.</p><p>“What are you doing here?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Delicate Questions and Cotton Sheets

**Author's Note:**

> IT JUST WON'T STOP.
> 
> Edit: Sorry to everyone who was subjected to the () incident. That's what happens when you post the fic before breakfast after writing through the night and then forget to research a name :D

When Dorian exited the MX facility one block away from the station, Kennex was waiting outside, leaning against the side of his car. The angles of his face looked even harsher in the light of the streetlamps, but Dorian could tell from a quick scan of his heart rate and serotonin levels that he was actually more relaxed than he’d seen him so far.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same, it’s past 1am.”

“How’d you find me?”

“I called Rudy. He said to look for you here.” John looked up at the towering structure. “This is where you sleep, right?”

“Memory compression is more like it,” Dorian corrected gently. “Or call it recharge, if you like. But, yeah, that’s what we do here. When we’re not being deactivated.”

John frowned. “I’m sorry about Vanessa. About her being booted down, I mean, and… about how I handled questioning her.”

If Dorian was squashing the impulse to ask if John had hit his head, he didn’t show it. “Thanks. Turns out, you listened to me, I listened to you.”

“Huh?”

“You went to talk to your partner’s kid… and I told Vanessa what you said people do. That she’d go to a better place, and that I’d remember her. It helped her.”

There was a serenity in Dorian’s eyes as he said this that seemed to weigh John down and lift him up at the same time, and he was too damn tired to deal with that just then. “Where’d you wanna go?”

“You should go home.”

“Not what I asked.”

Dorian shot him an exasperated look, but he was smiling. “What’s it like to… sleep in a bed? I never got to find out.”

John raised a brow. “For how long were you active before they decommissioned your line?”

“About six months.”

“And you never slept in a bed?”

“It didn’t really come up. I know all other furniture, but someone told me it’s not the same as lying on a sofa.”

John shook his head. “Damn right it isn’t. With me, before we fall asleep standing here.”

“Where are we going?”

“Home.”

 

At John’s house, he let Dorian step past him into the hall, then closed the door behind them and locked it.

“There’s a guest room down the hall and to the left. Bathroom’s right next to that if you… do you, at all?”

“Well, I do shower, occasionally. And the other stuff, too, when I do eat or drink something. I don’t have to, obviously, but I like it.”

John lowered his eyes at that. “Sorry, didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s fine, man. We should get to know each other.”

Kennex nodded. “I’ll go and find you something to wear.”

Dorian looked down at himself. “What’s wrong with these?”

 

Ten minutes later, Dorian was wearing some of John’s old pyjamas, and sitting on the bed in the guest room, crosslegged. John was standing in the doorway, watching him.

“How’s it feel?”

Dorian smiled, running a hand over the sheets. “I like it. It feels very… human.”

“Only you could make that sound normal and crazy at the same time,” John grumped.

The DRN rolled his eyes, then patted the bed next to him. “Sit down for a minute? It’s weird with you standing over there.”

“And me sitting on the bed next to you won’t be weird?” He teased, but walked over and sat down next to Dorian. “Better?”

“Much.”

“Will you be able to sleep? You just did your… memory-compressing thing for a few hours, right?”

Dorian shrugged. “I haven’t really gone to charge up since you woke me, so… should be fine.”

“So you don’t need pods for that or anything?”

“I need the pods when my energy levels are too low and I can’t power up in daylight, using solar energy. If I’m running normally, I can roll out the compressing protocols without being connected to a pod.”

John hummed, processing that information. Dorian had to suppress a chuckle — curious, how some of the same language applied to humans and droids, just that what was a metaphor for humans was literal fact for DRNs.

“Can I… Can I ask you something else?”

“Sure.” Dorian discovered that he was happy to answer any questions John might have, because questions like this meant serious interest, not open resentment and denial.

“The guy at the show room said that some of the sex bots’ circuitry was, uh, similar to yours. You don’t have to answer this, but how… ordinarily human did Rudy make you?”

John said this with such an air of badly hidden embarrassment and curiosity that Dorian couldn’t help but laugh. Since the man looked ready to flee, Dorian briefly touched his shoulder — the likelihood that that would signal acceptance and willingness to answer was 93,5%. To Dorian’s relief, it worked, and Kennex was no longer eyeing the door for a quick getaway.

“I can taste, smell, I possess all sensory capacities that you do. I feel when someone touches my hand, I feel what I touch. I can feel that your skin is warm through your t-shirt, I could feel the rain dripping down on me a few days ago. And to answer the question that you didn’t want to ask: yes, DRNs have private bits. Those work, too.”

John shifted his synthetic leg. “Ah. So you… wait, you scan your own balls, too?”

Dorian felt the heretofore unfamiliar urge to plant his face into his hand. “John...”

“But you’ve never slept in a bed? DRNs don’t get a lot of action, do they?” To his credit, John’s tone was pensive rather than spiteful.

“That’s not fair, man, neither do you. For lack of trying, granted, but dude...”

“How do you know they work, then?”

“There are certain test routines all DRNs ran through when we first got commissioned. We didn’t have time to do all those same tests when you woke me up, but I’m pretty sure nothing broke while I was hanging from the ceiling.”

John just nodded, but then a grin twisted his mouth and Dorian could tell by the tension of his shoulders that he was trying not to burst out laughing.

“What?”

Kennex shook his head, so Dorian raised his hand again and shoved at the man’s shoulder this time. “C’mon, I wanna know what’s so funny.”

Taking a deep breath, John wheezed a little as he asked, “Do robots wake up with morning wood?” He couldn’t hold in the snort that escaped him and he wound up giggling like an idiot.

Dorian just tilted his head, watching him. He tried to glare, but there was a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Kennex raised an eyebrow again and did his best to get his breathing back under control. “What, no scolding?”

Dorian shrugged. “I like seeing you laugh.”

“And that’s worth it?”

Despite John’s attempt at humour, Dorian could see right through to the fact that John Kennex didn’t think himself worthy of much of anything. How, he didn’t know. He could just feel it. “Why not?”

As expected, John declined to answer. Something tugged at Dorian’s insides. The cop beside him drew breath to speak, but then shook his head.

“What?”

“No, that’s enough questions. I’ve already asked you too many things that aren’t any of my business.” Kennex made to get up and leave.

“Try again tomorrow, then.”

John turned, surprise evident on his face. “We’ll see. Night.”

“Night, John.”

Kennex nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Dorian stood up, turned off the bed stand light, and lifted the covers to get into bed. Wrapping himself in the soft cotton, he pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and rolled onto his left side. Without really thinking about it, he pulled his legs up a bit and ducked his head towards his chest. Closing his eyes, he felt the warmth accumulate between his body and the sheets. Drawing a deep breath, he initiated the memory-compressing protocols. He was asleep within seconds.

In his own bed, John dragged a hand over his face, mentally slapping himself. He forced himself to fall asleep, blocking out thoughts of how he’d nearly asked Dorian what he’d really wanted to know, a question he couldn’t shake throughout this whole case: ‘Do you enjoy being touched?’


End file.
